Selling illegal salt was forbidden by the imperial government, not to mention involving officials in the trade. After arresting Lou De and his accomplices, Su Yunkai reported the situation to the higher authorities.
More than twenty days had passed since the conviction; in the turn of an eye, June would arrive. Meanwhile, the cicadas of Damingfu continued to chirp without revealing themselves.
There were many trees planted in the yamen garden. One could enjoy the cool weather by sitting beneath the foliage.
An apricot-colored shadow passed under the trees. A long pole was propped on her shoulder and an iron ring topped the long pole. The iron circle was surrounded by layers of spider webs, which were as white as silk thread. There were about twenty-three overlapping layers, making the ring appear as if it were covered in a layer of white cloth when seen from a distance.
The cicada’s calls became sharper and harsher. Ming Yue looked up and glimpsed a patch of brown in the dense leaves. Carefully, she used the spider’s web to cover the patch, catching the cicada.
She took the cicada and placed it into the bamboo basket. She covered the basket with the cloth and continued to look for cicadas.
The sound of cicadas outside the house became quieter and quieter as the day passed. Bai Shui, who was reporting official business, could see a person’s shadow passing. Bai Shui saw that the person was catching cicadas. She asked, “Is that Ming Yue?”
Su Yunkai knew that Ming Yue was walking up and down the yard, but he still looked up before saying, “Mhm. She’s catching cicadas.”
Bai Shui was surprised. “No way. Ming Yue is brave, but she is afraid of ghosts and insects.”
Su Yunkai paused. Afraid of insects? When he had seen her earlier, he had asked why she was catching cicadas. She had said that she wanted to catch them for fun. He looked at the official document in his hands and realized that the sounds had dimmed. Because it was quieter, he felt more focused. Then, he realized.
Ming Yue was afraid the cicadas would disturb him, so she had gone outside to catch them.
When she had come to talk to him, she had noticed that he was not as attentive as usual. Clearly, she had kept that in mind, which was why she had gone outside to catch cicadas.
Bai Shui finished reporting her end of the official business. She noticed Su Yunkai’s mind was not present. “My lord?”
Su Yunkai glanced over the official documents in his hand and said, “Return again in the evening.”
Bai Shui was about to leave when she saw the door open. Qin Fang poked his head inside. When he saw Bai Shui, his eyes immediately crinkled into a smile. Bai Shui kept a straight face and did not return the smile. If there hadn’t been anyone around, she would have responded. However, since there were others around, she felt uncomfortable doing so. What if Qin Fang started developing a habit for flirtatious glances? What if he did flirtatious things in front of other people who were not aware of her identity? That would definitely draw suspicion and criticism.
Qin Fang didn’t mind. Seeing that Bai Shui was not going to spare him a glance, he stepped inside and said, “Brother-in-law.”
When Bai Shui saw him coming in, she headed out. Qin Fang wanted to follow her, but he was halted by Su Yunkai’s voice, who rarely held him back. Knowing that Su Yunkai must have something to say, Qin Fang stopped following. After gazing at Bai Shui’s retreating back for a long moment, Qin Fang returned to the table. “What has brother-in-law called me for?”
The sound of cicadas outside the house rose again in the distance. There was a lot of noise, which made the atmosphere of the room different. Qin Fang could not help but sit up straight, his expression serious. “Brother-in-law, you can say it.”
Su Yunkai hesitated for a moment before saying, “If you want to find out what a girl’s intentions towards you are, how do you go about discovering them?”
“It’s simple.”
Su Yunkai’s ears perked as he prepared to listen carefully.
“You ask them directly,” Qin Fang said.
“…”
“That’s what I did in order to confirm things with Shui Shui. Look at how good we are now.” Noticing Su Yunkai’s dissatisfied expression, Qin Fang’s eyes twinkled and he asked with a smile, “Does this have something to do with Ming Yue?”
Su Yunkai immediately looked outside. Ming Yue was still wandering in the distance. She wouldn’t be able to hear their conversation from there.
Used to Su Yunkai’s rigid attitude, Qin Fang was surprised. He resisted the urge to grin. “Uncle and aunt have made themselves wretched with anxiety worrying over your marriage prospects. They even thought that you were a reincarnated monk. They were sure that you wouldn’t marry for life. If they knew you were asking me this, they would be overjoyed.”
Su Yunkai didn’t like it when others teased him, but he didn’t rebuke Qin Fang. “Cut to the chase.”
“It’s easy, although the method varies from person to person. Ming Yue is not as straightforward as Shui Shui. Still, she’s a cheerful, open-minded girl. However, I think she is similar to brother-in-law in these kinds of matters.”
“What do you mean?”
“You are both block-headed geese.” Qin Fang retreated as he spoke these words. Unexpectedly, Su Yunkai did not hit him. Qin Fang was amazed; his brother-in-law really liked Ming Yue so much that he could tolerate being teased by Qin Fang about her. After realizing this, Qin Fang began to speak with the patience of a teacher. “Brother-in-law, you’re not good at discussing feelings. Ming Yue doesn’t look like a girl who is good at that either. Still, you can’t always let her bring up this kind of thing first. Listen to me. Ming Yue likes you.”
Su Yunkai knew that Qin Fang was clever. He understood this matter better than Su Yunkai did. After hearing this statement from Qin Fang, Su Yunkai felt relieved, so he asked, “To what extent? Can you tell?”
Qin Fang squinted at him and said, “I don’t know how much she likes you, but I know that she at least won’t back off and avoid you if you tell her you like her. And…brother-in-law, think about it. Ming Yue met you when she was only a few years old. She’s remembered you for over ten years. She even came all this way with you. Haven’t you ever considered that?”
Su Yunkai was surprised. “Isn’t it because I accept female coroners here?”
Qin Fang’s heart itched; this discussion was really testing his patience. “Although I don’t know much about the imperial government, I know that Anzhou’s Lord Lin and Mingzhou’s Lord Mo are both female coroners. They are well-known. Even we Kaifeng gongzi know of their work. But Anzhou and Mingzhou are both right next to Nanle County. Hasn’t Ming Yue always paid attention to your career? How could she not know that?”
Su Yunkai was a little dazed. “But she said that she followed me so she could be a coroner.”
Qin Fang wryly said, “There are two meanings to her statement. One is that she wants to be a coroner and the other is that she wants to stay by your side.” It had been a while since Qin Fang had spoken to a person as slow as his brother-in-law. Suddenly, a sense of pride rose in his heart. Who said that Qin Fang was nothing compared to Su Yunkai? Regarding the discussion of romantic feelings, Qin Fang was clearly the master. Qin Fang decided to brag about this to Bai Shui afterwards.
After listening to Qin Fang, Su Yunkai suddenly remembered the day he had gone to meet Ming Yue that day at the Ming residence.
And then when they met again in Nanle County, and again in the provincial yamen, and again in Yang Family Village … It seemed that every detail had indeed displayed her intentions. Although he wasn’t sure if she herself was aware of what her actions “said” to him, he could detect them now.
Su Yunkai’s smile carried a hint of self-mockery. He had been attempting to guess Ming Yue’s thoughts, yet the answer had been so obvious.
Seeing that Su Yunkai was distracted, Qin Fang said with a smile, “Brother-in-law, the Qixi Festival is nearing. On that day, unmarried men and women love to watch the lanterns and the stars in the streets. It’s a good day for people to reveal their feelings to each other.” Qin Fang stood with a smile and leaned forward. For the first time, he did not think of Su Yunkai as an elder brother. Instead, he patted Su Yunkai on the shoulder with a “brotherly” mindset and said, “Get your sky lanterns and your river lanterns ready. Prepare red string and ask Ming Yue if she wants to go to the Yuelao[1] temple with you. She will understand your intentions. If she agrees, you can find a matchmaker when you come back.”
Su Yunkai pursed his lips slightly and said, “I won’t arrange any work for Bai Shui on that day, then.”
Qin Fang had a delayed reaction. Still, he was elated, laughing loudly as he ran to find Bai Shui. “Thank you, brother-in-law!”
As soon as Qin Fang—who is always buzzing with life—left, the room was even quieter. Suddenly, there was a long cry emitted by the cicadas. He looked outside. Ming Yue, still catching cicadas, had approached the window. He poured a cup of tea and went to the window to call her. Ming Yue heard his voice and said, “Is that cicada too noisy? Wait a moment; I’ll finish catching them soon.”
Su Yunkai knew that Ming Yue would keep on catching cicadas if she thought that they were still noisy enough to bother him, so he said with a smile, “It’s not noisy. I’m just tired. I’ve been sitting for a long time, so I came to the window to look at the scenery and I noticed you here. Don’t catch cicadas anymore. Come inside and have tea.”
Ming Yue reached out to take the tea and said, “Is it really less noisy now?”
“Mhm.” Su Yunkai had calculated the days. The Qixi Festival was over ten days later, so there was still plenty of time to prepare. This could not be abrupt or boring. He was already putting more thought into this than his imperial examination. “Ming Yue . . . do you know that this area also celebrates the seventh day of July?”
Ming Yue nodded. “Yes.”
“What are your plans for that day?”
Ming Yue said with a smile, “It’s too far in the future. I can’t be sure now, but I shouldn’t have any plans in particular if there are no cases that day. Why? Do you want to see the folk customs, my lord?”
“Yes.” Su Yunkai was a little stiff, but he looked at her and said, “I want to go. With you.”
“Okay.” Things weren’t that interesting or fun at the yamen. It was rare for Su Yunkai to seek entertainment of his own accord, so Ming Yue was obviously very glad for such a rare invitation. Suddenly, she heard the cicadas chirping again. She was in high spirits as she headed over to catch more insects.
Su Yunkai still had more to say, but Ming Yue was already trotting away. He smiled. No wonder Qin Fang wanted to laugh at them. They really were block-headed geese. He was slow, and so was Ming Yue. Block-headed indeed, the both of them.
Ming Yue found the cicada and successfully added another one to her bamboo basket. The spider web had been used too many times that it had nearly lost its adhesiveness. Ming Yue decided to go to another old house to gather some more cobwebs. As she headed out of the yard, something struck her. What time?
The seventh day of July?
Qixi?
The Qixi Festival?
Ming Yue stopped abruptly and touched her ears gingerly. She hadn’t misheard him, had she? Suddenly, she turned to look out the empty window. The Qixi Festival…
When a man asked a woman to go out on the Qixi Festival, it wasn’t usually for the purpose of exploring local customs . . . .
After having realized this, Ming Yue suddenly congratulated herself for not understanding earlier. Otherwise, she would have gone bright red and stiffened. She held onto the bamboo pole. Her heart started squeaking incessantly like the cicadas in the bamboo basket at her waist.
Bai Shui came back soon after. She saw Ming Yue standing in a daze at the edge of the pool. The sinking sun gilded the planes of Ming Yue’s face, yet Ming Yue didn’t seem bothered to find shade. Bai Shui stepped forward quickly. “Ming Yue.”
Ming Yue raised her face. “Shui Shui.” Seeing that Bai Shui was in a hurry, Ming Yue asked, “What’s the matter?”
Bai Shui replied, “Nothing. An official document just came from the Ministry of Personnel. The messenger sent it at express speed.”
Ming Yue asked, “What is the ministry responsible for?”
“The transfer of officials.”
Both of them went still.
Transfer?
Transfer to where? Su Yunkai had only been here for a few months. His political achievements were good. Why was he suddenly getting transferred?
Bai Shui frowned. Her pace quickened as she headed to Su Yunkai’s study.
.
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[1] Yue Lao, directly translated as the old man of moonlight is the Chinese god of love and responsible for pulling the red strings together aka marrying people. ↩
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A Hint of Spring 